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The High Price
The High Price by firey -words left unspoken- a for the birds fanfic. an au (alternate universe). ---- “The Birds are coming!” Someone shouted, “The Birds are coming!” Falconpaw felt her blood freeze. The Birds? Already? Fear shot through her and someone bustled her over to the edge of the camp just as the great Birds landed in the middle of the camp. The Birds’ eyes scan over the scrawny line of apprentices and Falconpaw tried to shrink away. She didn’t want to get chosen, not like- No, don’t think about that. “That one,” the largest bird croaks, her talon stretched and pointed straight at Falconpaw. The young she-cat let out a shriek and the eagle lunged forward, snatching up Falconpaw without hesitating. Talons dug into her skin and she let a whimper of fear and horror just as she heard her mother’s cry of grief. All she could think about was how she saw Shadepaw get picked off just a moon ago. ~ “Shadepaw?” Falconpaw darted to her brother’s side, “What’s wrong?” Her brother was supporting another tom between him and his friend. The poor tom looked terrible, his flank had a huge cut and he was bleeding. “Ashpaw got himself hurt,” Shadepaw grunted, “Screamed something about the Birds.” Falconpaw felt her blood run cold at the mention of the Birds. She had always been afraid of the huge eagles. “The Birds came a few days ago,” she said quietly, her voice quivering like her body, “Why would Ashpaw be screaming about the Birds?” Shadepaw only shook his head. Falconpaw watched them go, unsure what to do. “Falconpaw,” she turned and saw her mother beckoning to her urgently, “come inside the den, or stay near here.” “Why?” She asked, though she padded over. Before her mother could respond, the beat of wings alerted her. “The Birds!” Someone screamed, and Falconpaw darted to her mother’s side. Her eyes scanned the skies and saw the great birds landing once more in the clearing. The biggest one eyed the pitiful crowd. “We have one more Pick to take,” he snarled. His eyes zone in on Ashpaw, who was still being carried towards the medicine cat den. The eagle dove forward and snatched up Ashpaw, dragging Shadepaw up with him. He stared down balefully at Falconpaw’s brother and seemed to shrug. “We’ll take both.” “No!” Falconpaw heard her mother shriek. But her cries were unheard and the Birds turned and soared away once more. Falconpaw sank to the ground, her vision blurring. Shadepaw was gone. ~ They were soaring in the air. High, high above the trees. Too high, Falconpaw reckoned, but she didn’t care. Despite the dreading thought of the Birds letting go and letting her plummet to her death, Falconpaw felt strangely calm. She was Picked, just like her brother just a moon ago. Was it fate? Perhaps it was just inevitable. “Prepare yourself for the descend,” the eagle snapped and before Falconpaw could cry out, the eagle dipped down and plummeted towards the ground. A scream tore itself out of Falconpaw’s throat but the Bird had spread out its wings and they were drifting just above the ground. It took Falconpaw awhile to realize there were other cats around her, presumably other Pickings (or apprentices she supposed). Before she could contemplate what was happening, she felt the eagle kick her into a stone cell, which they dubbed a “torture chamber”. Falconpaw sank to the ground, not acknowledging any of the other cats. She knew what happened to cats who were Picked. They were killed, one by one. Falconpaw could only think about one condition… ~ Just after Shadepaw had been taken, Falconpaw wandered around the camp, so terrified of the Birds coming back, just like they had for her brother. She took to taking walks through the territory, unsure what to do. It was one fateful day when Falconpaw heard noises, familiar voices too. She hurried forward, tripping over twigs and roots, trying to find her way to the voices, determined to see if her brain was right. She rounded the corner and saw Shadepaw. “Shadepaw!” She gasped, “What are you--” Falconpaw broke off when she realized a huge eagle was with them. “Talon,” Shadepaw warned. “What are you doing here?” Falconpaw’s voice became hysterical, “You-- You were picked a moon ago and you shouldn’t be here! I thought they killed all the pickings!” Shadepaw’s eyes darkened but Falconpaw turned to the huge eagle perched near her brother. “Tell me!” Talon narrowed her cruel eyes and spread out her wings. Shadepaw and the other pickings scooted back. Her brother wouldn’t meet her eyes. Falconpaw felt fear light up in her heart and she backed up into a tree. Before Falconpaw could try to ask anymore questions, Talon dove for her. She wasn’t sure who was screaming, but screams erupted from all around her. Talon’s claws sunk deep into her pelt, and Falconpaw collapsed. The other apprentices… Falconpaw tried to turn, but all she could see was red. Her own blood. Shadepaw appeared before her eyes but all Falconpaw could see was Talon’s claws ripping into his back and his anguished cry before he disappeared too. Falconpaw sank to the ground, her vision swimming with tears. The pain was too overwhelming. The high price, she could swear that she heard Talon say this, the high price for prying is death. ~ Falconpaw woke up in extreme pain. “You’re lucky to be alive,” she was told by the medicine cat, “We found you in the territory, bloodied and scratched up. There were other bodies, but we can’t identify them.” Shadepaw... Falconpaw knew it had to be them. Had her interference killed them? But from that day on, she could only remember that terrible day she found her brother. She could see remember every detail, and she brought it with her when she was picked. It was a high price, but she would use what she learned to save others from the same fate. She had to. THE END. Category:Fan Fictions Category:Cchen3's Fanfics Category:Words Left Unspoken